Pamir Hwy, which Schwalbe tyres please?

[unclebob]

Cycling from UK to China via Pamir Hwy. We will be riding Surly LHT 26", and using the tyres that come with the bikes initially (Continental city contact 1.5) and looking to change them closer to the Pamirs as we encounter rougher terrain. CAn anyone offer suggestions as to which Schwalbe for the job, seems to be between dureme, extreme or tour plus and what size should we go for, the max for the surly is 2.1".

Any info greatly appreciated, bob.

[Mattie]

I can only make a suggestion, never having completed such a tour. However, on my last trip I changed the rear to a 26 x 2.00 Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour which is a very substantial tyre ! It weighs in at about 1.1 kg ! but what a tyre !

That would be my suggestion anyway.

edit: quick picture : tyre really fills the rear mudguard !

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[tonythompson]

Just finished crossing Australia and another vote for Schwalbe Marathon Plus , no punctures and still loads of life left in them. I was carrying full load as unsupported including up to 12 L of water at times plus I'm not exactly small so would feel confident that tyres would stand up to anything you might put them through.This included some off road trails.
Always been a Continental fan up until now.
Good luck

[simonhill]

There are a few views on the latest Schwalbe Marathons here, might be useful. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/t ... 3#19239703

Of course, the old standard would be the XR which might be still available at some shops in the UK.

Schwalbe have certainly muddied the water with all their new tyres - I can't decide which is best, so am sticking with the original for time being, but I see that that now has the greenguard.

One other thing, surely the Marathon Plus is a commuter tyre. It has an even biggger lump of goo in it to stop punctures. Not sure I would want to lug that up a decent mountain, or over the outback.

Have a nice pedal.

[Aushiker]

The Marathon Mondial is pretty much the replacement for the XR by the looks of it. It has the highest protection rating I believe.

The ultimate touring tire, made for roads, tracks and trails of all continents. The tread pays homage to its legendary Marathon XR predecessor. Construction and compounding are naturally the very latest Schwalbe Evo technology. TravelStar compound for the best handling characteristics, Double Defense technology makes it light, but with an extremely robust construction. The world is round. Ride it.

Weighs in at 865 g in the 26 x 2.15 guise.

Andrew

[Malaconotus]

It's between the Dureme and the new Mondiale I'd say, and it depends on how rough/soft the surface is on average, which I don't know. May be worth considering the faster-rolling Dureme at the back and Mondiale at the front where grip is more essential.

On my 26" Surly LHT I've done similar with 42-590 Marathon HS308 on the rear and 50-590 Marathon XR on the front, for 70/30 on/off road touring in the UK.

I'll be switching from XR to Dureme when my current XR wears out. Could be years yet, though!

You don't need Marathon Plus. The hassle of perhaps one more puncture per 5,000 miles doesn't justify the extra weight and much hasher ride.

[simonhill]

As I said, looks like Schwalbe have really muddied the waters with their 2012 collection. http://www.schwalbe.de/gbl/en/produkte/ ... ducts=true

The original Marathon (HS308, latterly 358) has been dropped leaving heavier duty tyres or very specialised ones. Not happy!

Interestingly Schwalbe say "Mondial, Dureme and Racer are now also available in an affordable Performance version." which rather implies that they other version is unaffordable!

[Mattie]

The Marathon Mondial is pretty much the replacement for the XR by the looks of it. It has the highest protection rating I believe.


Andrew

I am sorry but it does not.

Look again at the website and you will see that the Mondial has a protection rating level of "5" but the Marathon Plus Tour has a protection rating level of "6" , which according to their explanation is the most effective protection belt available for bicycle tires http://www.schwalbe.de/gbl/en/produkte/tour_city/produkt/?ID_Produktgruppe=36&ID_Produkt=133

[unclebob]

Thanks all for the replies, we are leaning towards 2 inch duremes, read some very good reviews and found some at 30 pounds a pop. Can't seem to find any mondial stockists, sjs had them but none at the moment and they are around 47 pounds delivered, pretty pricey but i suppose excellent quality.
Thanks for the tip on the plus tour.
Any more thoughts/suggestions appreciated,
Bob

[Aushiker]

I am sorry but it does not.

Look again at the website and you will see that the Mondial has a protection rating level of "5" but the Marathon Plus Tour has a protection rating level of "6" , which according to their explanation is the most effective protection belt available for bicycle tires http://www.schwalbe.de/gbl/en/produkte/tour_city/produkt/?ID_Produktgruppe=36&ID_Produkt=133

Whoops missed that, so thanks for the correction. However I still would probably go with the Mondial in this situation as there is a one star rating improvement in off-road grip. I guess a small trade-off in one area for a gain in another.

Andrew

[Aushiker]

Thanks all for the replies, we are leaning towards 2 inch duremes, read some very good reviews and found some at 30 pounds a pop. Can't seem to find any mondial stockists, sjs had them but none at the moment and they are around 47 pounds delivered, pretty pricey but i suppose excellent quality.

I have a set of Duremes at the moment but wouldn't consider them my first choice for dirt roads or for the Pamir Highway from what I have read of it. I am keeping mind for on-bitumen tours. Have you checked the likes of http://bike24.net's prices? I have found them much cheaper than SJS Cycles etc but then the postage/exchange rate may be the killer for you.

Andrew

[willem jongman]

The Supreme, Dureme, and the sadly discontinued Extreme are performance tyres. They are relatively light with good puncture protection. They all have an important dowside: a limited life expectancy of perhaps 6000 km. That is only a financial problem on a demanding European tour, but a real issue on a long demanding tour in the third world. The second issue with the Dureme is that it only has a quite shallow tread.
The various Plus models have two advantages: excellent puncture protection and a long life expectancy. The downside is bad handling, heavy weight, high rolling resistance and little comfort. I have tested the new Marathon Greenguard for Schwalbe, and hated it for my kind of riding. It is a light version of the Plus technology, so still too crude for my taste, but quite acceptable as a compromise on long tours with a heavy load. Rolling resistance was lower than the Extreme, but off road performance was worse, and it was heavier and less comfortable, of course. I have not yet heard any reports on the Mondial, but it would seem to be the tyre that Schwalbe thinks you should take.
Since on a trip like this you should also take at least one spare, you could of course opt for a mix of tyres, for different conditions. If you can still find a set of Extremes, you could take a set of Supremes and a set of Extremes, change them according to conditions, and have the others as spares. These tyres are light enough for that. But even two sets may not get you to Beijing
With all these tyres, go for the maximum size.
Willem